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3.03.2012

Sweet & Sticky Japanese Style Drumsticks

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I have been wanting to prepare drumsticks for a while. I figured now that I am over my fear of touching raw chicken, it's time to move on from only using chicken breasts. Onto drumsticks! I love drumsticks... who doesn't? Looking for new chicken recipes I stumbled upon Japanese Mum's Chicken on Food.com. A woman posted this recipe she made with the Japanese study abroad student she was hosting. I have adapted the recipe slightly, with some additional inspiration/guidance from Gina's Asian Glazed Drumsticks at theskinnytaste.com. The end result: they were fantastic, or should I say "素晴らしい!" It's no wonder they are one of the most popular recipes on the site. Someday, I would love to welcome a study abroad student in my home, if only for them to teach me their mum's special recipes! There is no need to get take out, when you can make this fabulous recipe!

Start by prepping what you will need for the dish. We had stir fried veggies on the side, snap peas, carrots and mushrooms, but any veggies would work!

Heat a large skillet on high heat with a small amount of oil (I used sesame oil). Brown drumsticks for abut 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sautee for 30 seconds (I like my garlic sauteed).

Add water, soy sauce, balsamic, brown sugar and chili pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20 minutes, flipping drumsticks occasionally. Since I am used to cooking chicken breasts, I was very worried the meat would become dry, but with the skin on and the bones, it stayed juicy.

After about 20 minutes, I removed the chicken and set aside. Then, I brought my sauce to a boil in order to reduce the sauce. This took some time (about 20 minutes for me), but eventually the sauce thickened. I added the chicken back in for about 5 minutes, to make sure it would be nice and warm for serving. This is my first experience with making a reduction sauce, so I was a little timid at first in fear the sauce would burn, but it turned out great!

Serve over a bed of Basmati rice, top with glaze, some toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Add more chili flakes if you are feeling spicy.

Heat a large skillet on high heat with a small amount of oil. Add the drumsticks, browning them for about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic. Add water, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar and chili flakes. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, covered for about 20 minutes, turning your drumsticks periodically. At this point, I removed the chicken to start my reducing sauce (in order to avoid over cooking). Bring the sauce to a boil until sauce thickens (this took about 20 minutes). After sauce begins to thicken, add the chicken back in for about 5 minutes. Serve over rice with a side of steamed veggies. Top drumsticks with extra sticky glaze, toasted sesame seeds and some chopped green onions.